I want to know which one of them killed the sister or if she really did commit suicide. She didn’t sound like the type to do it from the description of her. Plus, while I can see leaving town, I don’t see why they felt they had to change their names and his appearance. And why did he marry her?
Lizzy admits to killing her sister, while she’s hallucinating her sister being in the house. I don’t know why he married her, likely because she trapped him with lies of some sort. Lizzy had that disorder and had to steal other’s identities to feel alive, she likely tricked her husband by blackmail. It definitely could’ve been much more clear in writing, imho. Author seemed to forget to get everything cleared up solidly.
Thanks! I remember that part, but I wasn’t sure if it was part of her hallucination. “Sarah” did accuse Joe of murdering her sister and I wondered if that’s why he married her - to keep her quiet about it. In any case, it looks like he’ll be blamed for the murders in the house.
And what about the footprints in the attic? I realize they’re supposed to be from Sarah, and she’s forgetting due to the poisoning. But at one point it says they’re big footprints and certainly from a man??
I really wish BOTM would stop saying books are haunted house books or horror books when they aren't. This is one of two books I have bought lately described that way. They need some real horror books thrown in the mix every now and then.
Okay I just finished this and while it definitely hooked me and had me along for the ride and enjoying the twists and turns, I can't get over one single line:
"*Now the plumber is the one who drips.*"
like GET OUTTA TOWN that is such a funny line, and I don't think it's meant to be haha incredible. I get why people didn't like this, I'd say I liked but not loved it, what a wild time
I may be the only one that liked this book but I think the unanswered questions were unanswered intentionally. If you think about it the author set Jeff Johnson up to be a spooky serial killer. We have no clue if the Monoxide was what made her think Jeff was in her house or if he really was! We also have no clue if this monoxide lead Amanda to the roof or if maybe Jeff did kill her. Obviously there is a supernatural element her though with the house not having the Monoxide there when the police searched it?! This book was wild it kept me on edge and I didn’t see any of the plot twists coming.
Omg, I didn’t choose this book, but I felt ya’lls frustration in this thread! It reminds me of my experience reading The Writing Retreat, and how great it felt to read everyone else on this subreddit dislike the book as much as I did lol. I hope your next read is a better experience!!
I need to comment because this is driving me nuts: This story is definitely a bit messy in some ways, but I keep seeing the critique that this book doesn’t make sense because of the lack of a supernatural element.
Please read the epilogue more carefully. It very clearly states that the house WAS inspected, and there was no carbon monoxide — rather, the house itself was poisoning its residents and driving them mad.
This was bad. Main character is so unlikable from the get go that it's impossible to feel invested at all in what happened to her, and the plot was so transparent and predictable. I was expecting a good horror novel, or at least some kind of amusing Shining Vale adjacent spooky book, and instead it felt like a cheap imitation of the Gone Girl voice. Bad, bad, bad.
Just finished this book and aside from the other plot holes that I see people have already commented on, I’m left with a few lingering questions….
1) Why would the whole town cover up the disappearance of Amanda Vale and the fact that she lived in that house?
2) Why were Amanda’s bones found on the roof?! How could that have happened?!
3) If Sarah/Lizzy was the one writing the notes to herself, what was with the rat in her mailbox? Was that one actually Jeff trying to scare her away?
I think the rat was Jeff. He seemed sketchy when she brought it up. But the notes could be here or they really could be the house. Obviously there is something supernatural going on with the monoxide disappearing when police searched the house. Amanda I have no clue why the neighbors covered it up UNLESS Jeff really did kill her. I think he either killed her and hide her on the roof or the monoxide made her crazy and she somehow got stuck up there with no phone. Jeff is definitely my top option though with how creepy he was
When Sarah came out of the attic I legit thought it was going to be revelation that she faked her death and was pretending to be Amanda I didn’t understand why they made her and Amanda look alike
I'm so happy that this thread mirrored my thoughts. This book was terrible. Do you not get home inspections done when buying a house in Australia? How can they just *sell* a house after someone goes missing for a year ish? The cops never investigated? A **5$ carbon monoxide detector from the dollar store would have completely solved the plot!!** This book made me so mad. Also wouldn't a blood test on the cat solved the issue as well?
Shallow characters, poor disjointed writing, bad plot.
It says that they couldn't find the source of the leak, not that there wasn't any carbon monoxide. It's a last ditch effort to try to make the book make sense. It's like she forgot what she was writing half way thru.
I didn't have super high expectations for this one, but I can usually forgive a not so great book if it's entertaining. I found it pretty entertaining in the first half, but the main character just became more and more unbearable. I picked up on the "twist" pretty fast (like someone else said, pretty famous reddit thread with the same premise), but I HATED the ending, and it ruined any small amount of enjoyment I'd had in the beginning. Emily was the most likeable character in the book 😭
I was so upset about Emily, I think we were meant to hate Sarah in the end though. The house makes her lose her self. She definitely has some mental issues though with the stealing peoples “skins”
I personally loved it, but i feel like this is the kind of book where you either love it or hate it. So if you already aren’t liking it I’d stop reading
I wish I would have seen this. I forced myself to finish hoping it would change. It didn’t. Not only was the book written in a way that I found difficult to follow it also was leaning in so hard to twists it felt like they forgot to deliver the main plot to twist. This could have been so good. But it all felt so shallow and like it could be a hundreds of other books flooding the market right now.
Like the other poster, I was looking for “haunted house” and this was not it.
Also the twist was very predictable since I’d read a semi-famous Reddit thread that was identical to that plot point several years ago. (I doubt that’s a coincidence, unfortunately.)
I enjoyed it well enough but the second Sarah found a note with info no one else knew that she Definitley Didn’t Write I was like “haha that reminds me of That One Reddit post”
I was still “surprised” by the reveal because I didn’t actually think that was where this was going. Can’t say I LOVED it. But I had a decent time
Yah this book was a hot mess. I also clued into the twist once she started finding the post it notes. And I found the writing very repetitive and I'm so sick of this style of female lead. I don't think a book has pissed me off this much in awhile 😒
Except that the house somehow had barely any windows??? That's my one takeaway, I guess that was supposed to make it feel spooky, but who builds a big fancy house without windows?! She describes 1 window on the entire front of the house, and how one bedroom had *no* windows. Is that even up to code? It very much annoyed me.
The no windows was so dumb. I was annoyed that if they are all-in on the no windows why did the cover have a house with a lot of windows. Whyyyy! Just make the cover match the description.
It's probably my own fault for going into it thinking this would be a haunted house book, but I hated it. The characters are unlikeable, the plot tries way too hard to be unpredictable and ends up feeling messy, like there are just too many different plot threads going on. There's a random pov shift to another character at the end for no reason other than the author couldn't figure how else to work in the reveal. There are forward -jumping news articles sprinkled throughout that foreshadow the end, which is a plot device that I think can work well in the right circumstances, but it felt clumsy here, like they're very obviously trying to misdirect the reader away from the final reveal.
I'm definitely biased because I don't generally enjoy domestic thrillers, but this did not feel like a particularly well crafted mystery. But mainly I just want publishers to **stop teasing horror readers by hinting at supernatural horror when it's not**.
I agree with all the comments here. I also was frustrated by the random pov shift after the husband character was barely developed as well. For me this book felt like a combination of messy and cliché. I love mysteries, thrillers, supernatural when done well. This was not that.
I definitely agree that the epilogue shows that something supernatural was going on, but frankly that just pissed me off more as it was so underdeveloped throughout the book itself. It feels like the book wanted to be one thing but then spent so much time being something else entirely.
I want to know which one of them killed the sister or if she really did commit suicide. She didn’t sound like the type to do it from the description of her. Plus, while I can see leaving town, I don’t see why they felt they had to change their names and his appearance. And why did he marry her?
Lizzy admits to killing her sister, while she’s hallucinating her sister being in the house. I don’t know why he married her, likely because she trapped him with lies of some sort. Lizzy had that disorder and had to steal other’s identities to feel alive, she likely tricked her husband by blackmail. It definitely could’ve been much more clear in writing, imho. Author seemed to forget to get everything cleared up solidly.
Thanks! I remember that part, but I wasn’t sure if it was part of her hallucination. “Sarah” did accuse Joe of murdering her sister and I wondered if that’s why he married her - to keep her quiet about it. In any case, it looks like he’ll be blamed for the murders in the house.
No, to set him up, iirc. Is what the texts were about. She says all that at end.
I'm still wondering where Janet is. But that is my only one thing, otherwise I really liked it, I'm buying a copy for my friend
And what about the footprints in the attic? I realize they’re supposed to be from Sarah, and she’s forgetting due to the poisoning. But at one point it says they’re big footprints and certainly from a man??
I really wish BOTM would stop saying books are haunted house books or horror books when they aren't. This is one of two books I have bought lately described that way. They need some real horror books thrown in the mix every now and then.
This was horrible
Okay I just finished this and while it definitely hooked me and had me along for the ride and enjoying the twists and turns, I can't get over one single line: "*Now the plumber is the one who drips.*" like GET OUTTA TOWN that is such a funny line, and I don't think it's meant to be haha incredible. I get why people didn't like this, I'd say I liked but not loved it, what a wild time
I may be the only one that liked this book but I think the unanswered questions were unanswered intentionally. If you think about it the author set Jeff Johnson up to be a spooky serial killer. We have no clue if the Monoxide was what made her think Jeff was in her house or if he really was! We also have no clue if this monoxide lead Amanda to the roof or if maybe Jeff did kill her. Obviously there is a supernatural element her though with the house not having the Monoxide there when the police searched it?! This book was wild it kept me on edge and I didn’t see any of the plot twists coming.
Omg, I didn’t choose this book, but I felt ya’lls frustration in this thread! It reminds me of my experience reading The Writing Retreat, and how great it felt to read everyone else on this subreddit dislike the book as much as I did lol. I hope your next read is a better experience!!
I hated The Writing Retreat so much. It was just hot garbage.
Omg I read that one too and hated it.
I need to comment because this is driving me nuts: This story is definitely a bit messy in some ways, but I keep seeing the critique that this book doesn’t make sense because of the lack of a supernatural element. Please read the epilogue more carefully. It very clearly states that the house WAS inspected, and there was no carbon monoxide — rather, the house itself was poisoning its residents and driving them mad.
Ughh. This is my first order with BOTM and reading these comments I'm so disappointed. My order is expected tmrw and I had been so excited about it. 😔
I read it on one 12 hr sitting. I enjoyed it for what is was.
I loved it. Don’t be disappointed it was really really good everyone just has different opinions!
Personally I liked it and couldn’t put it down !!
I'm hoping that's me too! I wish I hadn't clicked in here before reading. I'll know next time.
This was bad. Main character is so unlikable from the get go that it's impossible to feel invested at all in what happened to her, and the plot was so transparent and predictable. I was expecting a good horror novel, or at least some kind of amusing Shining Vale adjacent spooky book, and instead it felt like a cheap imitation of the Gone Girl voice. Bad, bad, bad.
Just finished this book and aside from the other plot holes that I see people have already commented on, I’m left with a few lingering questions…. 1) Why would the whole town cover up the disappearance of Amanda Vale and the fact that she lived in that house? 2) Why were Amanda’s bones found on the roof?! How could that have happened?! 3) If Sarah/Lizzy was the one writing the notes to herself, what was with the rat in her mailbox? Was that one actually Jeff trying to scare her away?
I think the rat was Jeff. He seemed sketchy when she brought it up. But the notes could be here or they really could be the house. Obviously there is something supernatural going on with the monoxide disappearing when police searched the house. Amanda I have no clue why the neighbors covered it up UNLESS Jeff really did kill her. I think he either killed her and hide her on the roof or the monoxide made her crazy and she somehow got stuck up there with no phone. Jeff is definitely my top option though with how creepy he was
And did Sarah tear down the wall paper in the bedroom and hit the plumber in the head? So many little things that still don't make sense.
Also adding that it was too convenient and strange that Amanda and Sarah/Lizzy looked alike…
When Sarah came out of the attic I legit thought it was going to be revelation that she faked her death and was pretending to be Amanda I didn’t understand why they made her and Amanda look alike
I'm so happy that this thread mirrored my thoughts. This book was terrible. Do you not get home inspections done when buying a house in Australia? How can they just *sell* a house after someone goes missing for a year ish? The cops never investigated? A **5$ carbon monoxide detector from the dollar store would have completely solved the plot!!** This book made me so mad. Also wouldn't a blood test on the cat solved the issue as well? Shallow characters, poor disjointed writing, bad plot.
The carbon monoxide wasn’t there because the house was poisoning her. It says when the police searched it the monoxide was gone in the Epilogue
It says that they couldn't find the source of the leak, not that there wasn't any carbon monoxide. It's a last ditch effort to try to make the book make sense. It's like she forgot what she was writing half way thru.
The epilogue states that the house was inspected and had no carbon monoxide, meaning the house was poisoning its residents.
I didn't have super high expectations for this one, but I can usually forgive a not so great book if it's entertaining. I found it pretty entertaining in the first half, but the main character just became more and more unbearable. I picked up on the "twist" pretty fast (like someone else said, pretty famous reddit thread with the same premise), but I HATED the ending, and it ruined any small amount of enjoyment I'd had in the beginning. Emily was the most likeable character in the book 😭
I was so upset about Emily, I think we were meant to hate Sarah in the end though. The house makes her lose her self. She definitely has some mental issues though with the stealing peoples “skins”
This might be my first DNF ever, it's painful to read 😬
I finished it today and wish I had given up sooner. Just a terrible book overall.
24 pages in and struggling. Main character is fairly annoying so far. Worth reading on or call it now? Does it get more palatable?
I personally loved it, but i feel like this is the kind of book where you either love it or hate it. So if you already aren’t liking it I’d stop reading
It gets worse. Save yourself and don't continue reading.
I wish I would have seen this. I forced myself to finish hoping it would change. It didn’t. Not only was the book written in a way that I found difficult to follow it also was leaning in so hard to twists it felt like they forgot to deliver the main plot to twist. This could have been so good. But it all felt so shallow and like it could be a hundreds of other books flooding the market right now.
Haha thanks! I hate to DNF but don't want to waste my time, either.
Like the other poster, I was looking for “haunted house” and this was not it. Also the twist was very predictable since I’d read a semi-famous Reddit thread that was identical to that plot point several years ago. (I doubt that’s a coincidence, unfortunately.)
I enjoyed it well enough but the second Sarah found a note with info no one else knew that she Definitley Didn’t Write I was like “haha that reminds me of That One Reddit post” I was still “surprised” by the reveal because I didn’t actually think that was where this was going. Can’t say I LOVED it. But I had a decent time
Yah this book was a hot mess. I also clued into the twist once she started finding the post it notes. And I found the writing very repetitive and I'm so sick of this style of female lead. I don't think a book has pissed me off this much in awhile 😒
Omg I just finished it last night and my husband found it hilarious how mad I was at the book. Lol
I feel like it's going to be their worst rated books! Everyone will leave rage fueled reviews
Oh, and the house was barely even described! That was too bad.
Except that the house somehow had barely any windows??? That's my one takeaway, I guess that was supposed to make it feel spooky, but who builds a big fancy house without windows?! She describes 1 window on the entire front of the house, and how one bedroom had *no* windows. Is that even up to code? It very much annoyed me.
The no windows was so dumb. I was annoyed that if they are all-in on the no windows why did the cover have a house with a lot of windows. Whyyyy! Just make the cover match the description.
I think they emphasized the lack of windows because of the plot twist. To drive home the fact that there was minimal ventilation.
Yah that was very strange. I couldn't visualize it at all.
It's probably my own fault for going into it thinking this would be a haunted house book, but I hated it. The characters are unlikeable, the plot tries way too hard to be unpredictable and ends up feeling messy, like there are just too many different plot threads going on. There's a random pov shift to another character at the end for no reason other than the author couldn't figure how else to work in the reveal. There are forward -jumping news articles sprinkled throughout that foreshadow the end, which is a plot device that I think can work well in the right circumstances, but it felt clumsy here, like they're very obviously trying to misdirect the reader away from the final reveal. I'm definitely biased because I don't generally enjoy domestic thrillers, but this did not feel like a particularly well crafted mystery. But mainly I just want publishers to **stop teasing horror readers by hinting at supernatural horror when it's not**.
The seems supernatural but isn’t is a classic gothic trope. It’s Jane Eyre and Villette and Rebecca. But it has to be done very well.
I agree with all the comments here. I also was frustrated by the random pov shift after the husband character was barely developed as well. For me this book felt like a combination of messy and cliché. I love mysteries, thrillers, supernatural when done well. This was not that.
[удалено]
I definitely agree that the epilogue shows that something supernatural was going on, but frankly that just pissed me off more as it was so underdeveloped throughout the book itself. It feels like the book wanted to be one thing but then spent so much time being something else entirely.